Travelling
the Glacier Express in Excellence Class
Traveller, 13 September 2019
"Someone might be having a less-than-excellent day
somewhere in Switzerland, but it isn't me. Sipping
a glass of Laurent Perrier as I roll out of St
Moritz aboard the Glacier Express, I am
officially enjoying a day of excellence. For I'm
not slumming it in first class or even (shudder)
second class – I'm in the brand-new Excellence
Class carriage aboard the famous train which takes
eight hours to cover 291 kilometres between St
Moritz and Zermatt..."Enjoying a new luxury experience
aboard the Glacier Express train in Switzerland.[Read the
full article here]

Travelling
Europe by Train is Easier than Flying
Executive Style, 10 September 2019
"It's chilly in Zürich's main train station at
7am, but it has all the atmosphere I desire at the
beginning of a European train trip. The main
concourse sits beneath a grand hall of arched
windows, and there's an air of purpose as the
people around me head to their trains. After an
assignment in Switzerland I need to get to London,
and it occurred to me that rail travel might be a
viable alternative to flying..."Travelling business class aboard
trains from Zürich, Switzerland,
via Paris, France
to London, UK.[Read the
full article here]

My
Window Seat Through Canada’s Amazing
Wilderness
Escape, 15 August 2019
"Given that we’re starting in the Canadian
Rockies, it doesn’t take long for remarkable
scenery to appear. A couple of hours in we pass
Mount Robson, the highest peak in the range. An
announcement tells us there’s only twelve days in
the year when you can see the whole mountain – and
we can see it today. It seems a good omen. We’re
soon running between two great mountain ranges –
the Rockies to our right, the Cariboos to our
left..."Catching a train along a scenic
route from Jasper to Prince Rupert, Canada.[Read the
full article here]

London
to Glasgow on the Caledonian Sleeper
Train
Traveller, 25 July 2019
"The Club Car, as it's known on the updated train,
is a combined bar and dining car. I slip into one
end of a table for four, happy to share. Because
the train has departed late the staff are rushed
off their feet with orders, but when handed a menu
I'm impressed with the range and quality on offer.
The Caledonian Sleeper makes a point of filling
its menu with ingredients from the north, so it's
easy to feel a Scottish vibe even as we're
navigating the London suburbs..."Riding the rails from London to
Scotland, UK,
aboard a newly updated sleeper train.[Read the
full article here]

Spirit
of Queensland Rail Journey: Like
Business Class on a Plane
Traveller, 4 April 2019
"'WARNING: plastic snakes on station to deter
birds.' This yellow-and-black sign at Townsville's
railway station is undeniably eye-catching. It
strikes me that plastic snakes might also deter
humans. I look all around, but I can't find see
any fake reptiles. No matter. What's more
important is the train waiting for me at the
platform. The Spirit of Queensland takes
25 hours to cover the 1681 kilometres from Cairns
to Brisbane..."Riding aboard a modern sleeper
train along the coast of Queensland, Australia.[Read the
full article here]

Here's How to See Australia by
Trainlonelyplanet.com, 23 March 2019
"Australia is such a huge country that it seems
logical to cross it by plane. But there is another
option, one that becomes a memorable holiday in
itself: the train. Piecing together connecting
routes, it’s possible to take a great rail journey
across the continent from savannah to forests to
tropics, immersed in ever-changing scenery. Here’s
how to do it..."Describing how to travel around Australia by
rail, from
Queensland through NSW, Victoria and South
Australia to either Darwin or Perth.[Read the
full article here]

A Magic Bullet to
BusanTraveller, 7 March 2019
"As I enter Seoul Station, I have half an eye out
for zombies. A week before flying to the South
Korean capital I watched Train to Busan,
the excellent 2016 movie about a train journey
overtaken by a plague of the undead. It managed to
both evoke horror, and depict Korail's high-speed
rail network in a good light. In the midst of the
action the rail company's staff were unfailingly
cool under pressure (except when turned into
zombies themselves, of course)..."Catching high-speed trains from
Seoul to Busan, South
Korea.[Read the
full article here]

See Remote
Queensland's Flora and Fauna Aboard the
Gulflander TrainTraveller, 5 February 2019
"It's not easy to catch a train from Normanton, a
remote town in the Gulf Savannah region of
northwest Queensland. For one thing, the
Gulflander train only operates once a week. And if
you try to catch it at the tail end of the wet
season, as I am, you run the risk of being washed
out. But we've been given the go-ahead by the
track crew, and the landscape looks beautiful as
we enter the savannah, dotted with slender
dark-trunked trees..."Riding the memorable "train from
nowhere to nowhere", in Outback Queensland, Australia.[Read the
full article here]

How to Do a Car-free Day Trip
from Melbournelonelyplanet.com, 10 January 2019
"Melbourne may love its trams, but its excellent
public transport system also allows travellers to
take excursions into neighbouring regions of
Victoria on a budget. Natural forests, towns and
the seaside are all within easy reach of the city,
and taking the train means you can slow down,
enjoy the scenery (or even a craft beer) without
the stress of driving or being stuck on a tour
timetable..."Detailing a collection of day trips by
public transport from Melbourne, Australia.[Read the
full article here]

Full
Steam AheadParadise,
January-February 2019

"To
a train fan there’s nothing more
exciting than the hiss of a steam
locomotive, and the peal of its whistle.
Even more so when it’s about to bear you
through a picturesque area of Japan. I’m
about to board the SL Taiju, a
loco which worked on the northern island
of Hokkaido from 1941 to 1974. Recently
granted a second life in the Nikko
region north of Tokyo, it runs 35-minute
trips between the hot springs town of
Kinugawa Onsen and Shimo-Imaichi..."

Lonely Planet:
Amazing Train Journeys
(section on Eastern & Oriental Express)October 2018
"Tracing a route between the busy cities of
Bangkok and Singapore, the Eastern &
Oriental Express is an appealing way to
sample the sights of South-east Asia. Passengers
experience a little of everything on the two to
three-night journey: luxurious comfort within
finely-crafted décor; quality dining with a choice
of Asian and European dishes; beautiful scenery as
the tropical landscape slips past the train
windows; and cultural knowledge..."Describing a luxurious way to
travel by rail between Thailand
and Singapore,
via Malaysia.[Find the
book here]

A Rail
of a TimeDiscover,
Spring/Summer 2018

"Then it’s time to
hop aboard the most impressive train of
all: the Indian Pacific. A
two-night journey west to Perth includes
top-quality dining, stark desert scenery,
and dinner in a remote ghost town. It’s a
fitting finale to an almost 8000 kilometre
rail
odyssey..."

Detailing how to
catch trains round Australia
from Far North Queensland through NSW,
Victoria and South Australia, all the way
to Western Australia.

Poetry in Motion:
The London UndergroundTraveller, 28 July 2018
"As it's been built in fits and spurts since the
19th century, the Tube possesses none of the bland
uniformity of more recently built systems. The
most atmospheric stations are those that opened
along the first line in 1863, from Paddington to
Farringdon. Standing on one of the oldest
platforms at Baker Street Station, with its
curving brick roof, it's easy to fantasise
stepping aboard one of its long-vanished steam
trains alongside Sherlock Holmes..."Describing the appeal of the London
Underground in the UK,
as one of a series of transport delights (scroll
down for my segment).[Read the
full article here]

The Grand Island
Tour, Rottnest IslandTraveller, 11 July 2018
"Wildlife aside, Rottnest Island has had a
fascinating history. Most visitors focus on the
physical pleasures of its beaches and restaurants,
but there's plenty of scope for exploring its
chequered past. The Grand Island Tour, which I'm
on today, is a good way to start. The first
section is aboard an open-sided train which
follows the route of the original army railway of
the 1930s. From a stop in The Settlement, it
tracks slowly upward to Oliver Hill..."Joining a tour of Rottnest Island,
off the coast of Perth, Australia.[Read the
full article here]

Cape Town to
Pretoria by Train – Diamond Empires to
Shanty TownsTraveller, 18 June 2018
"A young man in a suit stands at the entrance,
proffering a tray of champagne glasses. Beyond
him, the 52 passengers on this two-night trip are
settling in among the deep sofas, high ceilings
and chandeliers, drinking bubbly and enjoying
salmon or cucumber sandwiches. The day before, I'd
been at this same station on a solo excursion to
the city's south via the suburban train network,
keeping an eye on my valuables and avoiding
slashed train seats. Today's ride is clearly in a
different class altogether..."Taking the luxurious Pride of
Africa train from Cape Town to Pretoria, South Africa.[Read the
full article here]

Poland to Ukraine by
Sleeper TrainTraveller, 7 June 2018
"According to old movies, there were two types of
European long-distance train. One was the sexy,
luxurious sleeper such as the Orient Express,
carrying exiled duchesses to elegant cities like
Paris. The other was a shabby train packed with
foreign agents and shady smugglers, hoping to slip
unnoticed past the Iron Curtain. You might think
that age of exoticism and intrigue on the rails is
gone; replaced by shiny high-speed trains with
bland open carriages, zipping across unmonitored
borders. But you'd be wrong..."Riding overnight on a train between
Poland and
Lviv, Ukraine;
then on to Kiev.[Read the
full article here]

Alaska to Canada by
RailTraveller, 29 May 2018
"It's an extraordinary engineering achievement.
From sea level the railway climbs almost 900
metres over a 30-kilometre route, twisting and
turning as it negotiates slopes, bridges and
tunnels. The WP&YR closed in 1982, defeated by
a new road and a mining slump, but reopened six
years later for tourism. Nowadays it draws its
riders from the cruise ship passengers who swarm
the docks where Soapy met his end; along with
hikers walking the popular Chilkoot Trail..."Catching a narrow-gauge train
through the mountains from Alaska, USA to Yukon, Canada.[Read the
full article here]

Life on the Rails in
Porthmadog, WalesTraveller, 14 January 2018
"In every British summer, so I've been told,
there's one perfect sunny day. And it seems I've
jagged it today, as my narrow-gauge Welsh Highland
Railway train trundles through the countryside to
Caernarfon. After we depart Porthmadog, a former
slate-mining port on a pretty estuary, its urban
backyards are replaced by craggy hills behind
meadows with sheep and cattle. With a blue sky
above, and the mirror-calm water of lakes along
the route, each view seems a postcard cliche..."Catching trains along three
narrow-gauge railways from this town in Wales, UK.[Read the
full article here]

Q Train Brings
Glamour Back to Rail TravelTraveller, 6 January 2018
"A tourist train offers a trip into nostalgia, but
it's usually a journey to the Golden Age of Rail
rather than the pop hits of my childhood. But the
Club Loco bar was once the disco car of the
Sunlander, the Brisbane-Cairns sleeper train that
was retired in 2014. Now, painted sky blue, former
Sunlander carriages comprise a new dinner train
that runs to the coastal town of Queenscliff and
back..."Enjoying the delights of this
restaurant train from Drysdale to Queenscliff, Australia.[Read the
full article here]

52 Weekends Away:
Indian PacificGood Weekend, 28 October 2017
"One of the world's great rail journeys, the
Indian Pacific crosses the continent over 4352
kilometres of track – including the longest
dead-straight section in the world, 478 kilometres
across the flat and empty Nullarbor Plain. It's a
spectacular route through mountains, cities and
vineyard country, past outback ghost towns, and
across stark deserts..."Detailing the experience aboard
this long-distance train from Sydney via Adelaide
to Perth, Australia,
as part of a collection of recommended
accommodation.[Read the
full article here]

How to Build a DIY Rail and
Cruise Tour of Canada and Alaskalonelyplanet.com, 14 September 2017
"A luxury rail journey combined with a coastal
cruise is the hottest way to see western Canada
and southeast Alaska. Each summer, thousands take
a gourmet train journey through the Rocky
Mountains, then admire the Inside Passage by sea.
If you’re an independent traveler, however, it’s
possible to bypass the expense and crowds by
piecing together your own rail tour and cruise..."Piecing together a train and ferry
journey to western Canada
and the coast of Alaska, USA.[Read the
full article here]

Spirit of the
Outback: into the Wild, Wild WestTraveller, 8 September 2017
"The adjoining Tuckerbox restaurant car is
similarly colour-coded, but more eccentrically
decorated. The dividers between table booths are
each topped by metal frames containing livestock
brands of famous cattle and sheep stations, such
as Bowen Downs, Wellshot and Isis Downs. Above the
tables there's a curve of corrugated iron, a
reminder of rural Australia's favourite building
material. The effect is that of a quirky
Outback-themed eatery. Tacky or fun? I'm going
with the latter..."Talking the sleeper train from
Brisbane to Longreach in Queensland, Australia.[Read the
full article here]

Coast to Coast: Across Australia
by Raillonelyplanet.com, 12 June 2017
"For almost half a century, Australia's Indian
Pacific train has traced a three-day journey by
rail between Sydney and Perth. Its 4,352km route
between the Pacific and Indian Oceans takes in
mountains, native bushland, desert, wheat fields
and urban sprawl. Those taking this trip gain a
close-up experience of Australia’s immense size
and diversity, as its dramatic landscape slides
past..."Travelling by rail across Australia
through New South Wales, South Australia and
Western Australia.[Read the
full article here]

Melbourne
to Sydney to Adelaide by RailTraveller, 5 February 2017

"Catching a train from platform one of Melbourne's
Southern Cross Station is like boarding a flight
from gate one of an international airport – rarely
done, and all the more special for that. With its
undulating wave-like roof, Melbourne's main
station is an exciting place from which to depart
on a long-distance rail adventure. This is a
full-on rail trek, which will take me to three
state capitals through a range of terrains, and
home again – without boarding a single plane..."Travelling through three states of Australiavia three different
long-distance trains.[Read the
full article here]

Ocean
Rail: Riding the Pacific SurflinerTraveller, 12 November 2016

"The year 1915 was a big one for San Diego. To
celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal,
California's southernmost city threw a
two-year-long party: the Panama-California
Exposition. To welcome visitors to this event, a
new train station, the Santa Fe Depot, was built
in the pseudo-Spanish Mission Revival style. I'm
at that station to catch Amtrak's Pacific
Surfliner train, which runs north through Los
Angeles and Santa Barbara before terminating at
San Luis Obispo..."Heading north along the Pacific coast
by rail, through Southern California, USA.[Read the
full article here]

10
Things in Australia You Can Only
Experience by TrainTraveller, 29 August 2016

"It's a big country, and there's no better way of
experiencing its vastness than by train. Australia
is blessed with two transcontinental rail
journeys: the Indian Pacific which runs east-west
to link Sydney with Perth; and The Ghan which runs
north-south between Adelaide and Darwin. Along
these two routes, and others, there's an array of
unique experiences..."Discussing unique aspects of
long-distance train travel in Australia.[Read the
full article here]

Sleepers
to SeattleTraveller, 21 May 2016

"'The last of the great train stations.' When it
opened in May 1939, no-one could foresee that Los
Angeles' Union Station would soon receive this
accolade. Train travel had helped knit the vast
territory of the United States together, after
all, and every major city wanted a rail terminal
that proclaimed its significance and prosperity.
Even now that aircraft have taken most of the
market for long-distance travel, LA's main station
remains a magnificent piece of architecture..."Taking a sleeper train from Los Angeles
to Seattle, USA,
via San Francisco and Portland.[Read the
full article here]

West
Coast USA by RailGet Up & Go,
Summer
2016

"In
my view, a good breakfast is the
foundation of a long-distance rail
journey. So it’s lucky that Philippe the
Original is a short walk from Los
Angeles’ Union Station, on the edge of
Chinatown. You couldn’t ask for a more
genuine slice of Americana before
heading on a train journey up the USA’s
west coast. I eat a sprawling omelette
studded with spinach and onion, on a bed
of hash browns; then I walk to the most
beautiful railway station I’ve ever
seen..."

How to
Travel Around Poland by Train
lonelyplanet.com, 23 October 2015
"Forget the car – with a rail network that
radiates to all parts of Poland from its biggest
cities, a much better way to experience the
country is by train. Whether departing from shiny
new stations or crumbling old ones, along busy
main lines or sleepy branch lines, aboard brand
new trains or communist-era carriages, Polish
train travel is never dull..."Explaining the ins and outs of train
travel in Poland.[Read the
full article here]

Express YourselfThe Sun-Herald, 26 July 2015
"It didn't take long for Sinatra to show up. I may
be sitting in the beautifully appointed piano bar
aboard the Eastern & Oriental Express, a
luxury train rattling along the rails of Thailand,
but New York, New York is being crooned by
the Singaporean pianist. Seated near him is a
cluster of passengers, still in suits and finery
from dinner, singing self-consciously under our
breath while clutching drinks. I'll have to give
that song a more determined effort later. For the
moment, however, there is plenty to explore..."

Converts' Guide:
Long-Distance Train TravelThe Sun-Herald, 15 March 2015
"There are many types of long-distance trains,
from regularly scheduled services to those that
resemble luxury cruise liners. What they have in
common is ever-changing scenery. A train is a
unique mode of transport, akin to a small town on
wheels; always in contact with the world outside,
but also slightly separate. It's difficult to get
bored as the entire planet passes by your window:
people, farms, forests, dramatic landscapes, and
the normally hidden backyards of vibrant cities..."Promoting the benefits of
long-distance rail travel, in one of a set of
travel essays; including the Indian Pacific train
across Australia.[Read the
full article here]

To
Berlin by RailGet Up & Go,
Summer
2015

"Most
travellers arrive in London looking for
history, but it’s also there on your way
out. I’m sipping great coffee within the
cavernous interior of Caravan, a sleek
modern cafe on Granary Square at Kings
Cross. The huge brick building it’s
located in was once a storehouse for
grain brought in by rail and barge. With
that transport history, it seems the
right place from which to set off on a
grand rail journey to the Continent..."

Secrets of the
London UndergroundTraveller, 30 December 2014
"Inevitably, every visitor to London forms a
relationship with the Tube. In other cities,
underground railways are practical, no-nonsense
ways to get around town quickly. But the London
Underground has always seemed more than that. Its
distinctive logo, its iconic route map, its many
stations with curious names, and the strange
unearthliness of its deep-level platforms, give it
a personality all its own..."Uncovering five Tube secrets in
London, UK,
including fake facades, a missing crypt and a
heart-wrenching memorial.[Read the
full article here]

Cirque du WheelsThe Sun-Herald, 17 February 2013
"On my left are lofty mountains, covered with
greenery and occasionally interrupted by villages.
On the right is the vast blue-grey St Lawrence
Seaway, its distant opposite shore barely visible
through the morning mist. Directly opposite me,
across a table, is Pierre, an avionics engineer
from Montreal. Pierre and I get on like a maison
en feu (that'd be a house on fire), politely
offering each other dibs on the last muffin while
chatting about the difficulty of taking photos
through the carriage windows..."Taking a luxury train journey into the
Charlevoix region of Quebec, Canada.[Read the
full article here]

Wild
RideMedical Observer,
23 November 2012

"The cog system stays engaged as we ease down
the slope to our next stop, the strangely
spelled Dubbil Barril. Rather bizarrely, this
was once the site of an isolated dairy farm,
which sent out its milk in cans via the railway.
There are lots of theories about the odd place
name, but the one that most appeals to me is
that of the semi-literate local who ordered a
double-barrelled shotgun from Melbourne but
misspelled the order..."

Exploring
the west of Tasmania, Australia,
aboard the West Coast Wilderness Railway.

A
Theatrical Journey into Canada’s
CharlevoixBBC Travel, 19 November 2012
"The Charlevoix Railway carried passengers until
1959. Fifty years later, Gauthier wanted to give
something back to the region that had kick-started
his success, and upgraded the line to make it
viable for a luxury train, hoping to encourage
travellers to visit the Charlevoix from Québec
City. Two versions of the Le Massif train leave
each morning from a suitably dramatic locale, the
spectacular Montmorency Falls..."Catching the Le Massif gourmet train
into the Charlevoix region of Quebec, Canada.[Read the
full article here]

Sydney
by TramMedical Observer,
4 November 2011

"'He shot through
like a Bondi tram!' It’s fading now, but
this colourful expression was part of the
Australian idiom for many decades, meaning
to depart at high speed. Whether Sydney
trams were ever that fast is another
question; but since the city’s tramways
were closed in the 1960s, there’s been
little chance to find out. There is,
however, one exception..."

"As we approach the
Rocky Mountains the landscape grows ever
more impressive, high and craggy with
snow-capped peaks, until we stop for 90
minutes at Jasper. The mountain town is an
attractive blend of both natural and
human-made attractions, as all the notable
civic buildings around the station have
been built in a harmonious style involving
stone, timber frames and steep pitched
roofs..."

I'm a
member of the Australian Society of Travel
Writers. This page contains examples
of my writing about rail travel, in
reverse chronological order, with a link
to the original published
article where available.

If you'd like to republish
one of these pieces, or would like a new
piece written about the same
topic, please get in touch via the
contacts below:

.

ArchiveAll articles in this
archive are available for republication (fee
to be negotiated). Articles can be rewritten
to meet your style or length requirements.
Please contact me by email
with your query.